20 Mar 2013

In January, I got invited to the fashion show of Studio Jux at the Amsterdam Fashion Weeks. Studio Jux is a fair fashion brand that gives the makers of their clothes the credit they deserve, stating that their Nepali tailor is a rock star (which he undoubtedly is).

I really liked the show, and since I haven't done any fashion drawings in a long time, I decided to illustrate one of their looks. I ended up choosing an outfit with a huuuuge knitted cardigan that really made me smile with its pockets bouncing up and down playfully as the model wearing it strutted on the catwalk.

So, a drawing started on an afternoon in January and finished in the late-night hours in March. It's drawn 100% digitally, which is quite an unusual way for me to work: I admit it's very handy to have the Command+Z option when working, but somehow vector-based lines just don't feel the same as the ones drawn with my good ol' pencil.Note: No, the model didn't really have blue hair, I just thought it looked cool.

18 Mar 2013

To celebrate the launch of Dear Fashion Diary, we are organizing an open competition for all you creative souls out there! Want to join? Choose one of the Dear Fashion Diary's pagesherein A4 or A3 format and complete it by drawing, painting, cutting and pasting, digitally or by hand. Then send an image of your artwork to hellodearfashiondiary@gmail.com.

The most striking submissions will be exhibited on our facebook pageand at the book's launch event in Amsterdam! The artwork voted as public's favourite on facebook will also win a free copy of the book together with a custom-made illustration by me and my co-author-illustrator Laura.

5 Mar 2013

There's this thing called Quick Draw Tuesday. It's a weekly drawing challenge open for everyone who dare to challenge themselves to create a quick five minute drawing of a randomly chosen topic using only their pen and memory. The outcomes are then featured altogether on the blog of Lucy Farfort's, an illustrator who started the whole thing.

When I ran into the challenge on Lucy's blog, I got really enthusiastic and decided to take part in it the next Tuesday. However, next Wednesday I realized I had forgotten the whole thing, so I wrote it down on my agenda to make sure I wouldn't miss it the next week. Too bad that when the next Tuesday came, I never got around to actually opening the agenda! Having missed the Tuesday quick draws already twice, I decided to take serious action and put an alert on my phone for the next time. It worked and I was ready to draw when my phone started buzzing today, but sadly it turned out that I had simply slept through the challenge due to time difference....oh well. Maybe I should start a new "wake up super early and draw" routine for Tuesdays...? :)

Anyhow, since the topic of the quick draw today was "stereo", I thought to post an old drawing that I made a few years ago when working for Drawing Room and making this set of playing cards. So, here it is: a stereo creature.

To take part in the Quick Draw Tuesdays, just put your alarm clock on next Tuesday and click yourself to Lucy's blog! Lucyfarfort.blogspot.com

3 Mar 2013

You know how difficult it is to tell about something big that you have kept quiet about for a long time? You don't quite know how to bring it up or where to start, which is why I'm going to start right here with an awkwardly metaphorical approach:

If my life was a pie, illustration would eat one quarter of it. Another quarter would go to writing and the third one to random free time activities, hundreds of movies, tea drinking with friends and occasional sports. The last quarter would go to magazines. Magazines and books. Thinking, talking and dreaming about them.

In the past year, I've been working on my own very first independent magazine Dear Fashion Journal, which I have mentioned here a few times. However, next to that there has been also another baby in the making! This time, I've been lucky to be in the project with a good friend and colleague of mine, Laura de Jong, and a Dutch publishing company BIS that makes great books...awesome books, to be honest (and not even one teeny bit biased)! One of my favourites in their collection is a book series called Ridiculous Design Rules, which never fails to make me chuckle and nod my head in agreement.

Anyway, the book we have been working on is called Dear Fashion Diary, and it's name stands pretty much for what it is: a fashion diary and an offline blog letting you document your fashion life, discover your taste and become your own style curator. It consists of over 50 illustrated assignments that allow the readers to grab their scissors, pencils and glue sticks and get creative.

We wanted to make the diary to create a fun tool for people to get to know to their wardrobes and learn how they express themselves through fashion. Me and my wardrobe have been in a bit of a fashion slump for quite some time now, so I really can't wait until April when the diary comes out and I get to start using it myself as well!

If you're curious for more about the book, feel welcome to follow us and our updates on Facebook or Twitter! :)